


A Friendly Push

by BrokenBookAddict



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: 4x11, Day One, Episode Tag, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Love, One Shot, Prompt- You got it, Romance, Snowells, Snowellsweek2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-24 23:23:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14964201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrokenBookAddict/pseuds/BrokenBookAddict
Summary: After his comment in the cortex earlier, Cisco confronts Harry about something he's noticed.





	A Friendly Push

**Author's Note:**

> I do NOT own The Flash. What I DO own are any errors. 
> 
> Written as part of the Snowellsweek2018 on tumblr, day one- prompt chosen- You got it.

Finishing up the last of what he is doing looking over the satellite scans of the city, Cisco leans back in his chair, tucking his hands behind his head as he let's out a sigh. Turning slightly in his chair, he opens his eyes and sets his gaze on the man before him, standing with his back to him Harry is in front of a clear dry erase board, white marker pen in hand as he writes numerous equations down with an almost practised ease.  
  
Tilting his head to the side Cisco regards him quietly, watching the older man as he works. From the outside looking in so to speak there's nothing so obviously different about the other man, that is unless you knew him, both personally and professionally, something that he can claim he does. And it's that, that allows Cisco to pick up on the little things he's noticed lately and all those things have a common point, they all seem to revolve around Caitlin. At first he didn't really pay much attention to it, not thinking anything more than what it was but now he is, now he's starting to wonder if there's more going on than he originally thought. Especially after Harry's earlier comment up in the cortex earlier.  
  
It all rounds up nicely to make his curiosity heighten and he couldn't not say anything. How could he?  
  
"Soooo, what was that earlier?"  
  
Harry keeps his back to him, not bothering to turn around, "what was what?"  
  
"Oh, so that how it's going to go?" Cisco should have known, what did he expect? An outpouring of confession immediately? This is the long game it seems. "Dude, that comment you made earlier."  
  
Harry tenses for a spilt second before he makes himself relax. He had hoped his comment would go unnoticed by all gathered but alas, it seems not. Instead of answering he decides to play dumb. "I make a lot of comments Ramon, it's hard to keep track of them all."  
  
Cisco rolls his eyes, knowing exactly what the older man is doing. "I'll just be more specific then. What the hell was that ' _you got it'_ all about to Caitlin up in the cortex earlier?"  
  
"Exactly what it was Ramon, a simple comment during a discussion between..."  
  
"No, it wasn't," Cisco interrupts adamantly, dropping his hands from his head to the arms rests. "We both know it wasn't just a comment made in passing."  
  
Still, Harry refuses to turn around, eyes locked onto the writing before him, he can feel the tension rising within him. This is the last thing he expected them to be talking about. "Oh, do tell oh wise one, exactly what do you think it was?"  
  
Cisco is quiet for a few seconds, thinking his answer over carefully before answering, "I think it's something you said before you could stop yourself. Harry, you basically declared Caitlin sexy in front of the whole team. I don't know if the others picked up on it but I did."  
  
Harry's eyes fall shut and he smothers the groan of annoyance that wants to escape him. However right he knows Cisco to be, he can't say it, not when he's finding it so hard to understand it himself. So instead of trying to formulate some kind of response, any kind of response, he decides to stay silent instead. If he is hoping his silence is enough to put off further conversation, he is wrong, because Cisco picks up talking again.  
  
"I'm not blind you know, I have eyes and those eyes have picked up on stuff lately," he tells Harry's back, noticing how tense he is. Good, he thinks, we hitting close to home. "I've noticed how you watch her when you think she and everyone else isn't looking. You also seem to take an interest in spending time in the med bay, lingering to talk to her or bring her coffee. And then there was Christmas, how tense and irritated you were while she was taken. Then at Joe's, you couldn't take your eyes off of her, so much so that even Barry noticed it. Should I continue?"

Whether it's a rhetorical question or not, Cisco isn't about to be given an answer.

The hand that holds the white marker clenches into a fist, so hard his knuckles turn white. Harry grits his teeth as he's confronted with something he's been denying even to himself. Finally, he turns around to face the younger man in front of him, sprawled in his chair. This time he's silent, not because he doesn't want to say something but because he doesn't know how to respond to any of that.  
  
And Cisco seems to understand that and takes pity on him. "Dude, you know I'm here to talk, right? Just like the others are too. What's going on here?"  
  
"I don't..."  
  
Cisco waits for him to continue but when it becomes obvious that that's not going to happen, he decides to just cut straight to the chase and ask what he really wants to ask. Even knowing that an answer is highly unlikely. "Do you have feelings for her? Are you, you know, in love with Caitlin?"  
  
Poor Harry looks like he's been punched, the words knocking the wind out of him.

And now that the words are out there, lingering in the open, it makes it all the more real to him. Those are the words he hasn't allowed himself to think, haven't been brave enough to admit that's what he's been feeling is exactly that. So instead, he'd drifted away from using that label. Even now, being faced with the words, he feels himself freeze in place.  
  
"Harry, are you in love with Caitlin?" Cisco asks again quietly, leaning forward in his seat.  
  
Silence stretches between the two friends until Harry takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself as he finally admits for the first time, more to himself than to Cisco, "yes."  
  
Even though he suspected, it still comes as a surprise when the older man confirms it, a confirmation he never expected to get in the first place and Cisco smiles back in encouragement. "That's good, Harry," he tells him and he means it but by the look on Harry's face, he clearly thinks otherwise. "It's not good? Why?"  
  
"Because I can't tell her Ramon," Harry stops, his hand lifting to rub at his eyes after he takes off his glasses, throwing them aside onto his work table. "I'm older than her, she deserves better than someone like me and I..."  
  
"You what?"  
  
"I haven't... there hasn't been anyone since my wife, it's hard to..." Harry struggles to find the right words, words to help explain how he's feeling.  
  
"Hey, I get it but I don't think you do. What you said just now, about being older and Caitlin deserving someone better, you don't get to decide that for her. She's the only one who has the right to make that decision and about your wife... I can't imagine how hard it must be but we both know someone who does. Caitlin's been there, suffered through losing Ronnie twice, if anyone's in a position to understand what you're feeling, it's her."  
  
Harry nods, more to himself than in agreement to Cisco's words. "I- I never thought about it like that before."  
  
"Well maybe you should start."  
  
It's quiet for a few moments between the two friends, each taking time to absorb the situation and that when something triggers curiosity for Harry. He looks back at Cisco, giving the younger man a curious, considering look. "Why are we even having this conversation? Why did you bring this up?"  
  
Cisco rolls his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "Because when I told you that you deserve a life, I meant it. And... now that you've decided to stay, I think you could make a good one here, with Caitlin," he shrugs, trying to downplay his role in this. "You guys have been through a lot, it would be nice to see you both happy."  
  
A scowl appears on Harry's face. "That's incredibly sappy Ramon." He turns back to his board, wiping away some writing as he continues to talk, "but there's a simple flaw you've overlooked in your grand matchmaking plan. How am I supposed to know if she even feels the same way?"  
  
"That's something you're gonna have to be brave about and find out for yourself. You'll never know unless you talk to her." Standing from his chair, Cisco stretches with a groan. "Before I head home though, I'll tell you one more thing. You're not the only one I've noticed things about."  
  
His words make Harry turn around, only to find the younger engineer heading for the door. "Ramon, what does that mean?.... Ramon?!" But no answer came except for a wave as Cisco left the work room to head home, leaving behind Harry to ponder over his last words.  
  
Harry tries his upmost to forget about the conversation that had just taken place and also about his confession but for all his effort it appears a waste of time. He can't stop thinking it over, especially those last parting words from Cisco. It makes him wonder just what Cisco has noticed, is it similar things that he has noticed about himself? Yet he knows this to be of no help, he knows that Cisco is right. The only way he's ever going to know if there's anything there between them is if he actually talks to her, an actual conversation. The thought alone appears daunting to him, how would he even start? Where should he start? Should he just tell her how he feels or ask her out to dinner to see her reaction? All the questions only serve to make his head hurt even more than it already is.  
  
With no answer forthcoming, well not one that meets his approval, he shakes his head in defeat. Maybe he should just try his luck and kiss her, he thinks with an eye roll. So with a sigh of exasperation, he sets down the marker and decides that a cup of coffee is in order before heading back to his rooms to try to sleep. A concept that seems an incredible feat right now, how alive his thoughts are inside his head.  
  
The walk to the kitchen is quiet, as it always is when night falls and the team has headed home for the night. To anyone else, the lab at night would seem creepy, eerily so but the quiet serves only as a comfort to him. He's lost in his thoughts, mind pre occupied so the stroll through the lab flies by and before he knows it he's reached his destination only to find the kitchen that he is expecting to be empty, is not.

The lights are on and the coffee machine can be heard and as he steps into the doorway his eyes land on the person occupying the room. It's just his luck that the person is Caitlin, who stands leaning against the counter, flipping through a report as she waits for the machine to finish brewing. A part of him feels like bolting back to the safety of his rooms because all this feels like it's coming far to soon after his conversation with Ramon except for the other part inside of him, the part that screams that maybe this is good sign. Like the fates are offering up a golden opportunity for the conversation he's terrified to have to take place.  
  
Cursing the fates under his breath Harry feels paralysed in the doorway and she must have sensed his presence because Caitlin looks up, a lovely smile on her pretty face being directed his way.  
  
"You needed a coffee fix too, huh?"  
  
"Uh, yeah." He feels extremely stupid, just standing there in the doorway staring at her so he makes his way further into the room to stand beside her, matching her stance of leaning back against the kitchen counter.  
  
"I put on a fresh pot, it shouldn't be too long."  
  
"Thanks," he mutters kindly, running a hand through his hair. "You're here awfully late. Working on anything exciting?"  
  
"No, not really," Caitlin shakes her head, turning to look at him. "Just some tests and I thought I'd take advantage of a quiet night to restock the med bay."  
  
Harry nods, before offering, "would you like some help?" This is good, he thinks, this is normal. Talking about work, it's a safe haven of a topic.  
  
"With restocking?" she asks in disbelief looking up at him, when he nods, she shakes her head. "No but thank you for offering. I wouldn't want to bore you and besides, you probably have a ton of things to do yourself."  
  
He doesn't say anything in reply, feeling nothing needs to be said. Instead, Harry's eyes watch her as she moves to make the coffee, reaching into the cupboard above and bringing down two white Star labs mugs. Without prompting or questions, she proceeds to make his just how he likes it and he can't help the small smile that creeps onto his face. Maybe what comes next happens because of his talk with Cisco or maybe it's just her, Caitlin's presense next to him as he watches her as she makes something as simple as coffee so close beside him. "Snow?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Would you like to have coffee with me?" There, that's a start he thought.  
  
But obviously not a good one as she looks up at him in confusion. Holding both the mugs in her hands, she asks, "now?"  
  
"No, not-- not now I mean..." he stumbles over the words, trying to get them out and into some kind of sentence and failing terribly at it.  
  
"Harry, are you okay?"  
  
He swallows hard and nods. "I'm fine, I just..." He sighs in exasperation, his hands dropping to his side. "Let me try this again. Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?"  
  
Caitlin's eyes widen at his words. "Oh. You mean like-" she pauses, her eyes flickering over his features, as if she searching for something. "Are you asking me out, Harry? Like on a date?"  
  
He licks his lips, distracting himself by taking his mug from her hands. "I'm trying to, yes."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't -" whatever more he was about to say is cut off by Caitlin interrupting.  
  
"Yes."  
  
It takes a few moments for her answer to sink in, that she has answered him and agreed to go to dinner. It feels like a weight has lifted, now that he's hurdled the first obstacle. "That's-- that's good. Tomorrow? At eight, is that okay? Or you could pick a day when you're free." He really wishes he didn't sound so unsure of himself but it seems she doesn't mind.  
  
"Tomorrow sounds fine Harry," Caitlin smiles softly up at him, taking a step closer. Why she takes that step closer she's not sure, it just seems instinctive to do so.  
  
Harry notes her proximity and his eyes can't help but drop from her pretty hazel gaze to her lips before dragging back up. It's when his eyes meet hers once more, that he finds them sparkling almost and she nods at him, a whispered,   _"yes"_ falling from her lips. He knows immediately to what she's referring and so with an almost unsure vibe he can't seem to shake, he leans forward closing the gap and presses his mouth to hers. It's soft and gentle, hesitancy playing a big part on both sides but slowly it falls away, leaving behind an almost quiet confidence as they kiss. Each taking their time, to savour the experience of their first kiss, a kiss that is everything and more than they each had ever imagined it could be. Though eventually they pull away and eyes locking immedately, the free hands not holding their mugs- hers is buried in his messy hair while his is curled around her hip, holding her close.  
  
"So..."  
  
"So..."  
  
They share a soft dopey smile, each feeling the effects of the kiss and their close proximity.  
  
"We should maybe, talk about this?"  
  
Harry nods, his eyes devouring her beautiful features.  
  
"Does your offer still stand? Of helping to restock?"  
  
"It does."  
  
"Good, we can share our coffee and talk while we work."  
  
When he hums his agreement, her smile brightens and she takes a step back away from him.

Following behind as she leads them out of the kitchen, the talk he assumes is imminently coming, doesn't seem as daunting now as it did earlier while talking to Cisco. Instead as he walks beside her back up to the med bay, he has to admit to himself that sometimes Ramon can be right. Harry would never admit it aloud or God forbid to the man himself but he had been right, you never know unless you take the chance and he's so glad he had.  
  
Because it's evidence enough by the lingering taste of her on his lips and the promise of their dinner date tomorrow. It really does pay off, taking a chance.  
  
The end

**Author's Note:**

> One down, many more to come. Stay tuned. Feedback is appreciated whether via comments or kudos, let me know what you think, I love hearing from you.


End file.
